Travere's Departing CEO Says New IgAN Drugs Will Be Add-Ons To Filspari, Not Replacements
Eric Dube said switching away from Filspari has not changed, as third-quarter IgAN patient starts slipped from the second quarter.
Travere Therapeutics, which develops therapies for rare kidney and metabolic diseases, says new B-cell drugs for IgA nephropathy will be layered on top of its Filspari rather than replace it. CEO Eric Dube made the case on the company's third-quarter earnings call Monday, his last before he steps down in December, while Chief Commercial Officer Peter Heerma said IgAN patient starts slipped slightly from the second quarter.
A small IgAN dip, FSGS still growing
Heerma said Travere received 1,932 new patient start forms across IgA nephropathy and FSGS in the third quarter. Asked by an analyst from Wedbush about direction, he said FSGS showed slight sequential growth from the second quarter, while IgAN demand stayed high but showed a small decrease.
He called that consistent with expectations, pointing to summer seasonality and a little second-quarter demand that had been pulled forward. The company does not break out performance by indication, he added.
About $8 million of third-quarter net sales came from specialty pharmacies stocking above historical levels, Heerma said, and fourth-quarter sales should fall by roughly the same amount as that inventory is dispensed.
Combination, not switching
Dube said B-cell therapies are replacing steroids in higher-risk patients, about 30% of the IgAN population, and that nephrologists are hearing the ideal regimen is Filspari plus SGLT2 inhibitors plus a B-cell therapy. For the roughly 70% of patients at lower risk, the segment where Travere says Filspari has made its inroads, Heerma said the first change physicians make is swapping a RAS inhibitor for Filspari.
Dube was explicit on churn: "We do not see a change in trend of switching away from Silspari." He did acknowledge that more companies competing for nephrologists' time will bring "some variability" in demand.
On the fourth quarter, he said "We're not going to be providing intra-quarter trends," and that the company does not guide on patient start forms. He did cite strong demand in October and said it was in line with the goal of $3 billion in annual Filspari sales by 2033.
The quarter and the pipeline
Filspari U.S. net sales grew about 120% from a year earlier to $200.2 million, CFO Chris Cline said, within $220.2 million of total U.S. net product sales and $224.6 million of total revenue. Cash and marketable securities were about $471.8 million at September 30. The company has a market value of $4.7 billion after Monday's session.
Travere plans to submit a U.S. IND (the application to begin clinical testing) for sivorebrutinib, its oral BTK inhibitor licensed from Everest, by year-end, Head of R&D and Chief Medical Officer Jula Inrig said. Dube said Bradley will join Travere on December 1.
Travere says it expects to file the sivorebrutinib IND by the end of the year, with Dube's departure also set for December.
Sources
- Travere Therapeutics Non-GAAP EPS of -$0.31 misses by $0.73, revenue of $224.5M beats by $29.21M (TVTX:NASDAQ) | Seeking Alpha — seekingalpha.com
- In Rare Kidney Disease, the Next Breakthrough Will Come When Care Catches Up with Discovery – Endpoints News — endpoints.news
- Travere Therapeutics Reports Third Quarter 2026 Financial Results — businesswire.com
